If you ask me it’s a very interesting model, and the inspiration is obviously clear. It’s not my intention here to judge if it’s subtle or not, but I like the model. I would like to paint it and wouldn’t really mind the reference to the real-world counterpart, who was a genocidal dictator, and thus not a person to look up to.

Yet some of you may feel different about it. And I don’t really find it weird or ridiculous that somebody may feel uncomfortable painting a caricature of a mass murderer.

Still we often paint models depicting characters (real or not) who commit various heinous acts. But for each of us there is a line that we’re not comfortable crossing. It’s a hobby but each of us has their own borders we don’t want to cross to keep the hobby enjoyable.

I would paint this model. I appreciate the sculpt and the potential it offers. Is it too literal? Probably yes, a bit. I understand people who would rather not paint this model.

Yet there’s something that about it that disappoints me. The fact that this model is so literal leaves no room for interpretation. Painting miniatures is a creative hobby as long as the painter has a chance to add some of his own interpretation to the model. And with the very literal and obvious theme here, it leaves hardly any room for creativity. I like it as a 1930s-style orc, and would like to paint it this way. Of there are pirate orcs, why not a military uniformed orc with a funny moustache and hair? But with the insignia and stuff you’re almost pushed to go the particular way unless you want to convert the sculpt. So where’s the space to be filled by the painter’s creative input?

And what are your thoughts about it? Definitely a controversial model, and I think controversies serve models well, but would you paint Adolforc? Or not and why?

About the Author

The founder and admin of this website. Formerly a very active painter, currently getting back to painting after a years-long break… One of the most active members of Polish miniature painting community, known for his weird taste for strange or ugly miniatures